Melting the Permafrost
by frozenhotchocolate
Summary: Three years had changed everything, especially for Sakura who disappeared for those three years. Now she's back, but then again it isn't the Sakura they once knew. Is there anyway to heal her? many pairings of Sakura and others R&R dark fic btw


:Naruto has been disclaimed:

Years had gone by since anyone had seen her, Haruno Sakura. No one in Konoha had a clue where she had gone, or what happened to her. She just had _disappeared_. They had even sent search teams, yet found no trace of her what-so-ever. It was strange, and unsettling, but soon it was forgotten by most. She was presumed dead or a missing nin.

That was until a strange figure entered the leaf village…

-0-0-0-

"Sasuke-kun! Sasuke-kun! Why don't you have lunch with me?" invited an overzealous Ino, still trying to seduce him after all of the years. She was eighteen now, and her body showed it, with the help of her wardrobe that is. Too bad the only thing to mature was her body. Inside she was still the same, boy-crazy, appearance-obsessed girl.

Sasuke turned to her, looking just as annoyed as he had for the past three or four years.

"I have better things to do Ino," he grumbled, her constant word vomit not helping his mood. Two years from today he had escaped his own beast and came back to Konoha. Two years from today he found out that the girl who once worshipped the ground he walked on had vanished. For some reason it had shaken his world more than he'd expected. Sakura had been just like Ino was now, but something about her not being there when he'd arrived home and then not knowing what happened to her at all pained him. Sasuke though, always one to keep his emotion's in check, refused to show it. Naruto on the other hand, had been a complete wreck, making Sasuke realize that Naruto did actually have feelings for Sakura. He could remember their talk on the subject.

--flashback--

"_Sasuke?! W-what are you-" A blonde teen by the name of Naruto yelled in shock._

"_I came back for good." Was all he had said before going to speak with the Hokage about his decision. When he came back out of the building there was a crowd awaiting him with smiling faces. He tried to look peeved by this, but couldn't deny that it was a relief he was accepted again. His onyx eyes looked over the crowd, noticing the lack of a certain pink-haired girl. He thought she would have been waving a banner and attacking him with cheerful tears and pledges of love. Not that he wanted that, but it was odd that she wasn't there._

_Plenty of 'welcome back's and 'we've missed you's smothered him and finally, after realizing that he didn't want to be around them anymore, not that he ever did, they left. All but one that is, of course it was Naruto. The blonde ninja was smiling at him with the same too-cheerful grin, clearly happy that Sasuke was home. Sasuke sighed and leaned against the wall of the building he was just in. Naruto joined him of course._

"_I never thought you'd come back," Naruto began, looking up at the setting day's sky while starting a conversation with his old teammate. Sasuke just "hn"ed , folding his arms in front of his chest._

"_Nobody did, well except for-" Naruto cut himself off, his face twisting in a painful way. He still couldn't even bring himself to say her name sometimes. Sasuke's attention was now on Naruto, confusion relevant in his one-eyebrow-lifted expression. Naruto felt his stomach turn as he realized he was going to have to tell Sasuke about Sakura and possibly have to deal with the rage he'd feel when Sasuke's reaction was uncaring. Naruto didn't believe she was alive. Sakura was not the type to just run off and betray her village. Most likely she had gotten kidnapped and died horribly. He shuddered to think of all of the possible scenarios that haunted his mind._

"_Sakura." Naruto choked out, trying to shake off the expression of sorrow that was on his face. Sasuke sensed something was seriously wrong at that moment, but pushed it down._

"_What would make her think that? Foolish girl…"Sasuke stated coldly, the words left a bad, sticky taste in his mouth for some reason. Naruto had been waiting for him to say something like that and just clenched his fists. Sasuke didn't know, but either way it still pissed him off. Sakura had been their friend, along with the receiver of his own affections. It was just a crush, but it was also another attachment to her that was ripped away on that fateful day._

"_She had faith in who you really are, Sasuke," Naruto explained, sounding so much wiser than he had been just a year before. That's when Sasuke picked up on something and the sinking feeling in his stomach grew._

_With narrowed eyes he asked,_

"_Why are you speaking in past tense, Naruto?"_

_Naruto visibly flinched. Damn…Sasuke had noticed. With a deep breath, Naruto decided to just get it over with._

"_Sakura-she, disappeared a year ago," Was all he could say. Sasuke still felt confused but it was slowly coming together._

"_What?" he asked, sounding a bit snappish. Naruto sighed and went into detail._

"_I don't know Sasuke, one day she was here training and hanging out, the next she was gone. No traces of her have been found, but most likely she's not…"he swallowed hard, "alive." _

_Sasuke's eyes widened in surprise, not only at Naruto's statement, but at the sudden feeling of pain in his chest. Why would he feel this way? It was only Sakura, that annoying, obsessed pink-haired girl. It was easier to not have to deal with her constant, unwanted displays of affection, but it just didn't settle right with him. _

_--_

Then he noticed a commotion in the distance. A crowd had formed on the streets of the leaf village. Normally he would have avoided such a situation, but something was tugging at his senses. So Sasuke glided over to the crowd to see what the deal was.

A gasp of shock escaped his lips as his eyes laid on one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen, but what really shocked him was who the girl was. His teammate, his friend…

"Sakura…" the dark-haired boy breathed before pushing people out of his way to get closer. She was so different than the girl who had haunted his sleep. He pink hair had grown out to her waist, covering one eye with bangs. Sasuke's eyes traveled down to her body. She no longer looked like a child, but a woman. She was still slender, but had filled out, her odd outfit showing this to an extent that Sasuke's mouth nearly hit the ground. Her facial features had become more striking, but her eyes shocked him the most.

_Her eyes…_It was then that Sasuke began to doubt that this person in front of him was really his old teammate. Her once big, cheerful emerald eyes now were guarded. She looked emotionless. His stomach twisted again. All she did was stand there, not looking at anyone, appearing slightly annoyed. People were bombarding her with questions and everyone was yelling.

"Move out of the way fools!" barked Tsunade as she pushed through the crowd, impatience swimming in her eyes. Sakura had been like a daughter to her, so even though she wouldn't show it, Tsunade hadn't been the same since Sakura's vanishing act. Once her eyes laid upon Sakura though, they widened with a mixture of emotions even Sasuke couldn't read.

"Tsunade." As soon as the name floated out of the pink-haired beauty's mouth, Sasuke knew that the girl before him was not the same girl he had been bothered by for many of their younger years. Her voice was void of emotion, gentle and wispy, yet strict.

Sakura's now sea-foam-green eyes connected with Tsunade's gaze. A silent message was sent and Tsunade nodded her head, turning to head back to the city hall-like building.

--Inside--

As soon as they were behind closed doors, Sakura felt strong, squeezing arms around her and look up to see Tsunade hugging her. The pink-haired girl flinched, as if she didn't like to be touched. Tsunade noticed and let the younger girl's stiff body go. The woman felt overwhelmed surprisingly. So many things swam through her mind, the most recent was 'Is this really my apprentice?'

Sakura's eyes were dull and cold, rivaling even Sasuke. She wore odd clothing, bandages wrapped semi-spaciously around her toned, poised body, over that were merely underwear-like black garments, thigh-high cloth boots, long yet fingerless gloves and a long black cape. The Sakura that they had known was not before them now. All Tsunade could make out was,

"What in the hell happened to you?" It was not a very professional or thought-out sentence, but it just blurted right out of the Hokage's mouth, her eyes showing little of her bewilderment.

Sakura's emerald eyes seemed to be ridding themselves of the wall that covered her mind a bit as they bore into the Hokage's. That's when Tsunade saw it, a beast lay dormant within the mind of Sakura, it was pain. So much pain that the blonde's eyes stung.

"Sakura! Answer me!" she ordered, alarmed by what was once her daughter-like apprentice acting so out-of-character.

"I was kidnapped." was all that came out of Sakura's cherry-red mouth, her voice no longer high and girlish, but calm and womanly.

Tsunade's eyes widened further, before narrowing in anger. She hadn't felt so confused since her early teenage years.

"I'm sorry Tsunade-sama, if it seems as though I'm being difficult. It's not purposeful I guarantee you." Sakura finished, a hint of sincerity and sorrow appearing in her eyes. Tsunade immediately calmed down as the pitiful, honest tone. And sat down behind her desk.

"Sakura…I need you to tell me where you have been, who kidnapped you and what happened during the years you've been gone," the older woman calming explained, care clear in her tone.

Sakura's eyes immediately left the Hokage's and concentrated on the floor. Her striking face twisting slightly, causing even more concern to fill the Tsunade. 'What on earth happened? I swear if she was hurt, torture will be pleasing to the devils that kidnapped her…' she thought angrily.

"I don't know if I can…"Sakura spoke, leading Tsunade's mind to think the worst. She slammed her fists down on the table.

"Who was it, Sakura? I order you to tell me! For your own good! I can't allow you to stay here unless your disappearance is feasible!" Tsunade growled out, furious that the girl who she cared so much about wouldn't cooperate. Sakura didn't seemed to be fazed by it, but still got up the courage to answer the Hokage.

"The…Akatsuki, Lady Hokage," Sakura bit out…

--

Everything seemed different, but Sakura knew it was all the same. She was what had changed. Her eyebrows furrowed together as if she was trying to push away the spike of pain that jabbed her heart, but it went as soon as it came and the numbness took over again. She had become excellent at killing her emotions. Everything that had happened made her that may. Her emerald eyes traveled up to the night sky. She hadn't seen the sky but a few times in the last three years. They locked her into a room with no ways to escape, meaning no windows or outside access. Anger swelled within her, but she pushed it further inside where it would hopefully disappear. It was detrimental not to lose her mind now. There was no telling when they would come back for her, if they even bothered. She hoped to just be forgotten. If they found her, they would no doubt go on a rampage, just to teach her a lesson on submission. And then, they'd keep her alive only to watch her suffer for the rest of her life. The only reason she came back to Konoha was because she needed them to know that she was alive and to help them take down the organization that spread darkness into whatever it touched. She knew their few weaknesses, while they obliterated hers. She shoved the thoughts away quickly.

"At least I didn't have to deal with anyone else today. Tsunade was bad enough," Sakura sighed, her voice low as she conversed with herself. Her long pink hair swayed in the cool wind as she made her way down near the river.

It was a beautiful, clear night. A cool breeze wrapped itself around the exotic-looking girl. She drifted off into the memory of earlier that day.

After being in Tsunade's office for awhile being interrogated, Tsunade told Sakura that she would have to stay in the house that her ex-teammates shared since hers was not in any condition to be lived in and she should not live alone if murderers were after her. The situation had made Sakura cringe. She was not expecting that to happen. In fact, she was at loss as to why her teammates all lived together.

"_Well this is going to be stressful._" the little ninja continued in her mind, "_How am I supposed to explain why I was gone? I cannot tell them, especially with their past experiences with those bastards," _Images swirled in her head. Then, so clearly did she see the scarlet eyes that had captivated her so many nights in the silvery reflection in the river. So clearly did she feel those hands that had made her their possession shoot out of the water to grab at her. A shudder went down her barely covered spine.

"Sakura?" Came a strangled voice from behind her, snapping her out of the illusion. '_That voice,_' it was so familiar, but she couldn't place it, it had been too long. She stood still and tossed her head back to look at whomever it was, only to have her eyes widen at the sight of Kakashi. Gods he was such a beautiful man…

"Hello Kakashi." Sakura said strictly, feeling an akward situation rolling in around them. There was so much and so little to be said, and personally, Sakura didn't want to say anything. She wondered if he knew that she was to live with him, if he had already heard of her return or if this was a big surprise seeing her.

"My house is this way," he stated calmly, trying to hide the fact that he had emotions and acting like he had been looking for her just to tell her that. '_Seems like I'm as underestimated as ever…_' her inner self sighed in slight annoyance.

"Hn." was all she noised, following him to his house. Emerald eyes scanned the building in as much appreciation as she could muster. A few years ago she would have been absolutely ecstatic about living in a mansion that was team 7's home, but that was years ago and now she couldn't care less.

Kakashi could barely contain his shock. Emotions were boiling over inside of him, so much that he couldn't speak or look at the creature who called herself Sakura. This woman couldn't be the little girl he taught who cared more about her appearance and love interest than her own life. The Sakura he knew was a girl, this Sakura was a woman. This Sakura was something he had never seen, power emanated from her being and she was so closed off it was like dealing with a more mature Sasuke with feminine sex appeal. No, he couldn't deny it, Sakura had become the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, but she was so cold. Something was seriously wrong, something horrible had happened to her. How else could someone once so immature and bubbly transformed into the woman before him? She was only seventeen too.

Taking a deep breath, while Sakura held hers, Kakashi opened the double doors to reveal an extremely nice house. Light flooded the night that once surrounded the pink-haired nin and she immediately felt very out in the open and vulnerable. Light was not something she had experienced much lately.

"Sakura-chan!!" shouted an excited, booming male voice as Sakura felt strong arms wrap around her. Panic shot through her veins and she reacted on instinct, grabbing whoever had attached themselves to her and throwing him on the ground. All she did was look at her victim with murderous eyes and barred teeth. The room fell silent and tense.

"Sakura?" Sasuke questioned in a hushed, stunned tone. What had just happened?

"Sakura, its me! Naruto!" the blonde said, a desperate, breathless tone to his voice as he looked up at her. She looked into those ocean blue orbs and regained her composure.

"Please, don't touch me," Sakura spoke in a quiet mellow voice while looking down at the ground. 'Shit…'she mentally cursed. Things were not going well and all she wanted to do was run away. It wasn't as if she had wished this to happen, but it did.

Kakashi coughed, effectively cutting through the akward air around everyone.

"Sakura, your room is up stairs on the third floor. We sleep on the second, so you'll have your privacy," the copy ninja spoke, sounding surprisingly kind. Sakura was fragile, he could see that now. He feared the worst and from her reaction to Naruto's simple touch, he believed the worst was right. Someone or something had broken her, changed her and he felt a strange sense of remorse because of it.

Sasuke couldn't do anything but stare at what he thought was a dead girl. When she had walked through that door, relief swam over him, but it was shot down a moment later when she laid Naruto out, cracking the floor with force. When he looked into her eyes he saw darkness, they reminded him so much of his…No, he would not compare that bastard and his childhood companion.

"I'm sure you would like to rest. I'll show you your room," Kakashi stated, trying to salvage any kind of friendship that might still be there under the ice that covered her glass heart. Plus he was quite sure that she didn't want to be there and he was required to keep her safe in his sights at all times. He still wasn't aware of all the details and that peeved him to no end. It wasn't like Sakura was going to tell them anything either.

"No, I'm fully capable of finding the third floor," she snapped, being to get annoyed with the babying she was receiving. With that she walked up the stairs with agility and grace she wasn't known to have and onto the third floor. Immediately she found her bedroom and nearly screamed in irritation. Everything was pink, flowery, as in the room's theme was cherry blossoms. She grimaced and hurt hit her again.

' _**My little Cherry Blossom…' **_

Was the last memory before she fell asleep on a huge soft bed…

well... How was it?

Hope you enjoyed because I would enjoy some reviews

ja ne,

Sasara Lacroft


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